I know there are a lot of posts about different brands on this forum, but I get so confused reading about how it's the best dog food brand evarrr, then another post about the food making a dog bleed out the eyes. Plus, a few years ago the 2 GF kibbles recommended the most were EVO and Natural Balance, which is no longer the case of course.
It's really hard to admit, but my dogs have been eating crap grocery store brands for a few months now due to financial problems. Please don't flame me, I've just been doing the best I can.

Anyway, finally I can start getting them some good food again. I'm looking for a decent grain free kibble.

I was feeding TOTW before- it was affordable and both dogs did wonderfully on it. However I'm worried about feeding it again since I heard about all the recalls, and I've never been crazy about the fact that it's a Diamond product. It's making me very nervous now. D:
I don't think Orijen is very common or affordable here.
Merrick? Fromm? Acana?
Help?

Don't feel bad or guilty. We do what we have to do. Many dogs live long healthy lives on those brands.

Actually, a few of them aren't even half bad anymore. Purina Beyond and Pro Plan for example aren't terrible. With that said, their not really 'cheapest' anyway and you can definitely find better foods at comparable prices.

Check out Fromm Classic and Gold. Great values and a solid company with a good reputation. Their 4-star line is honestly of lesser quality IMO and it's more $$$.

If you have Precise around you, their pretty price friendly and again a great company and brand.

Heck even Eukanuba is improving their formulas I just saw the other day.

And while I'm not a big fan of Diamond and wouldn't personally seek it out, honestly the foods are a great value and a lot of dogs seem to do well. And the odds of your dog dying because of Diamond foods is probably slim to none.

I've always personally had the best luck on Acana. But it's not one of the cheaper ones at all. I pay $15.99 for the 5lb bag of Wild Prairie GF.

Annamaet and Dr. Tim's are fantastic companies but not really readily available which is why I've always hesitated to try them or feed them. I like having options locally.

I'm of no help because I feed Diamond products. Chloe and Gracie are on TOTW and 4Health depending on what my mom picks up, Cooper is on 4Health, and Cynder and Abrams are on Diamond Naturals.

I will say, I have no issue feeding the food and have always been happy with the quality, the price, and how my dogs do on it.

This. Lucy eats TOTW because honestly, it's the only food (out of dozens tried) that sat well with her stomach. I have no qualms feeding it, and am grateful that we found it. Bonus that it's good for my wallet.

I fed my dogs Diamond products for years with no ill effects. They did remarkably well on Diamond Naturals, and I'd feed it again without hesitation.

They're currently eating that Petcurean GO! formula, but only because I was able to buy it as such a low price. Otherwise, they're fed ProPlan lamb & rice - again, with no ill effects.

Once upon a time, I fed my dogs Innova. During that time, they had itchy skin, dry, flaky coats and nasty poops. Maybe they're outliers, but spending that much money on dog food for those results seems silly. I put them back on the dreaded grain (& corn!) inclusive diets, and viola! Everything came up roses again.

Ultimately, my thought is to feed what you can afford and what your dog does well on. If you can afford Diamond or 4Health and they do well on it, then everybody wins.

One of my all-time favorite foods is Fromm. They have both grain-free and grain-inclusive formulas - they have 10 flavors in all, so there's a lot of choices for rotation. It's a moderately priced food, about $50-60 for the large bag. A lot of stores will do a frequent buyer program for them as well. They haven't had a recall, and they're still a family owned company.

I really like NutriSource/PureVita and Earthborn Holistic as well, if you're looking for a great food that won't break the bank.

I love the Victor grain-free line because it's cheap and awesome. However it's not readily available everywhere yet. It's based in Texas, though, so the closer to Texas you are, the better your chances. Also, if you can't find it, an independent feed store may be able to order it in for you. That's how it started at the place I got my food, and now it's their hottest seller. I had one bag of the salmon formula that smelled off, and they had NO hesitations about replacing it with a bag from another lot number.

Anyway, as of right now, though, I'll be feeding Go and Now for the next 6+ months, because it was a freaking good deal.

If funds are tight, I usually try to get 4Health (though it is a Diamond product). They have a grain-free line and a grain-inclusive line, and are a step above Diamond Naturals and a step below TOTW (at least last time I bothered to compare them, anyway).

I'm also working on finishing a bag of Pulsar kibble with Logan. It's got peas and chickpeas (called pulses, apparently, hence the name Pulsar) instead of grain. It's not the highest rated dog food (it has a lot of its protein content from the pulses), but HOLY CRAP it has made Logan's coat SO shiny (even though he's still flaky, he's SHINY). I don't know if that's the food or coincidence, but he's been doing very well on it, so I may switch him back to the after the Go and Now are gone. It's cheaper than the Victor, even, but I never saw it until about 3-4 weeks ago. I think it was around $28 for 25 pounds.

Acana, Orijen, and other $80-$100+/bag foods are way out of my price range right now

I'm a huge fan of Fromm. It's inexpensive and my dogs do fantastic on it, and really I don't have a single bad thing to say about the company. I keep thinking of getting a different brand for Happy just for a change of pace, but I can't find anything in that price range that is even close to the same quality (her 15lb bag of food is like $22).

Juno is on Go for the next many months because of that pricing deal, but when we're out she'll be on Fromm Gold just like Happy and Lucy.

__________________

And if all of it is for naught, well at least I took a shot
Juno 2009 :: Happy 2000 :: Lucy 2006 :: Cajun 2013

I love the Victor grain-free line because it's cheap and awesome. However it's not readily available everywhere yet. It's based in Texas, though, so the closer to Texas you are, the better your chances. Also, if you can't find it, an independent feed store may be able to order it in for you. That's how it started at the place I got my food, and now it's their hottest seller. I had one bag of the salmon formula that smelled off, and they had NO hesitations about replacing it with a bag from another lot number.

Anyway, as of right now, though, I'll be feeding Go and Now for the next 6+ months, because it was a freaking good deal.

If funds are tight, I usually try to get 4Health (though it is a Diamond product). They have a grain-free line and a grain-inclusive line, and are a step above Diamond Naturals and a step below TOTW (at least last time I bothered to compare them, anyway).

I'm also working on finishing a bag of Pulsar kibble with Logan. It's got peas and chickpeas (called pulses, apparently, hence the name Pulsar) instead of grain. It's not the highest rated dog food (it has a lot of its protein content from the pulses), but HOLY CRAP it has made Logan's coat SO shiny (even though he's still flaky, he's SHINY). I don't know if that's the food or coincidence, but he's been doing very well on it, so I may switch him back to the after the Go and Now are gone. It's cheaper than the Victor, even, but I never saw it until about 3-4 weeks ago. I think it was around $28 for 25 pounds.

Acana, Orijen, and other $80-$100+/bag foods are way out of my price range right now